MSE News: Pension minister vows 'no concessions' for WASPI

Paul_Herring

bmm78 wrote: »

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/thesnp/pages/7860/attachments/original/1474453410/SNP_WASPI_Report.pdf?1474453410

All 5 options are discriminatory and would contravene EU Directive 79/7/EEC. In the highly unlikely event that they saw the light of day, they would be wide-open to legal challenge.

Hmm..

Option 1: Resetting women’s pension age to 60

Only if you reset men's to 60 as well. Not going to happen.

Option 2: Return to the timetable in the 1995 Pensions Act

Only if men's were reduced to the same as women. Not going to happen. Also undoes the 2011 act. Also not going to happen.

Option 3: Slow the timetable for increasing women’s pension age

Only if men's are reduced to the same age while this happens. Which it won't.

Option 4: Reduce the qualifying age for Pension Credit to 65 for a transitional period

Only if... I'm seeing a pattern here. See what you mean bmm.

Option 5: Allow women affected by the increase in SPA to 66 to receive the State Pension at age 65 on an actuarially fair basis

Only if...

And all these options seem to be shaking more free money from the [STRIKE]magic money tree[/STRIKE] net-tax-payers.

Which Mr Gavin Newlands certainly isn't. Unless, like certain politicians, he gets more money from private businesses in addition to his MP's pay.

hugheskevi wrote: »

Mr Newlands was elected in 2015 - he is in the new career average [MPs]pension scheme.

As I said, at an accrual rate of £1,450 (this year, which 'costs' them £8,206.60) per year - gold plated, and paid for by the taxpayer.

Sadly, since I don't work in the HoC, I can only manage an approximate accrual rate of £745 per year (costing me £16,560)

I put in twice as much as he does, and get half as much out at the other end in return. If that's not gold plated, I'd like to know what would be.

bmm78

Interesting summary from a prominent politician regarding any proposed changes to state pensions that moved the UK further away from equalisation:

"Since 1995, the British Government have said that they will equalise the state pension age gradually to give people the appropriate time to plan for their retirement so that they know exactly when they will be due to retire. It is hard to imagine that the EU Commission would be happy to be suddenly confronted with a new non-equal pension age that was clearly against European law and that had been promulgated on a whim....I suggest that (they) take a much closer look at what seems to be the mess of...policy on the retirement age"

This could easily be a statement from Green or Harrington today, but it was actually a statement in March 2010. Also, rather than it being a Tory defence of the upcoming 2011 Act, it was actually from Labour’s Angela Eagle who was the DWP Minister of State at the time.

Any Labour MPs who feel inclined to trumpet today’s report from the SNP may wish to speak to one of their senior and more informed colleagues about the matter.

jamesd

New story today about pensioner benefits including the triple lock being considered for cuts because like the WASPI 2 and WASPI 3 demands they are not fair to other generations. Since the WASPIs want money only for one gender (so gender discriminatory) and only a part of one generation but paid for by the still working generations via NI that's clearly contrary to the fairness objective. One part of the background for this is that "while [relative]* poverty is falling among pensioners [40% in 1980s, 14% now], working families and younger generations are poorer than they used to be".

As well as the rejection of the WASPIs, things that are being considered are said to include:

1. means testing free bus passes
2. means testing free TV license
3. means testing winter fuel allowance
4. replacing the triple lock with a double lock

Those prospects for means testing benefits also run counter to the WASPI 2's objective of getting an effective backdating of the state pension for some women only to age 60 regardless of how wealthy the pensioner or their household are.

*relative poverty means below 60% of median earnings, well above actual poverty.

Pincher

This is the problem with expectations.


The Greeks were expecting even more generous pensions.


I am always surprised when insurance actually pays out.
Three bicycles stolen over the years, not a penny.
Sent a file to the Travel Insurance claims people, "Can't speak French", and then "The person who was dealing with your file took it home, and died".


By the time I retire, they will either give it a hair cut, or they will have printed so much money the weekly pension will buy one banana.


Expect nothing, and you won't be disappointed.

brewerdave

jamesd wrote: »

New story today about pensioner benefits including the triple lock being considered for cuts

As well as the rejection of the WASPIs, things that are being considered are said to include:

1. means testing free bus passes
2. means testing free TV license
3. means testing winter fuel allowance
4. replacing the triple lock with a double lock

Those prospects for means testing benefits also run counter the the WASPI 2's objective of getting an effective backdating of the state pension for some women only to age 60 regardless of how wealthy the pensioner or their household are.

*relative poverty means below 60% of median earnings, well above actual poverty.

Sorry to be pedantic/offtopic -but isn't the cost of free over 75 TVL being carried by the BBC in future?

Silvertabby

Sorry to be pedantic/offtopic -but isn't the cost of free over 75 TVL being carried by the BBC in future?

I think you're right. Expect the BBC to limit it to 75+ households only. Mind you, I've never understood how a multi generational house of 2/3 teenagers, mum, dad and granny could be exempt just because granny was 75.

jamesd

No problem to be pedantic about it, that's the current plan. But since it is also an intergenerational subsidy it's something that could be reviewed as part of any look at such things.

Part of the issue is that those of older ages are a rapidly increasing portion of all adults so the cost burden on those still working is increasing compared to the one borne by those who are retiring now while they were working. There's an illusory view that some have that "we paid in so you should pay out" when they paid in at a far lower rate than they are wanting others to pay out at.

Mortgagefreeman

News Update - 22 September 2016
The last few days have seen the WASPI campaign gaining remarkable attention from the success of the local group demonstrations and events right across the country on Friday 16 September. There have been articles on radio, TV and in the papers in all regions.
Perhaps not surprisingly in the face of this widespread support, Richard Harrington, the pensions minister, felt he needed to make a statement to the effect that the government was not diverting from its usual line of “no plans to revisit the arrangements”. Sadly for him, it’s clear from the response on social media that this statement has only served to stiffen the resolve and determination of WASPI women to continue their fight for a fair resolution to the pensions debacle.
In fact, the government must now begin to see how isolated it is becoming on this issue. Over 30 local and county councils have passed resolutions in support of WASPI, often with Conservative councillors voting in favour too. Many Conservative MPs have joined the All Party Parliamentary Group and WASPI local groups continue to work hard to persuade other Tory MPs to support the campaign.
Yesterday saw the Scottish National Party launch a piece of research they had commissioned regarding the costs of making fair pension arrangements for 1950s women. This was aimed only at putting right the failings of the 2011 Pensions Act, and thus fell short of the aim of the WASPI campaign, which is for a fair outcome for all women affected by both the 1995 and 2011 Acts. However, it was a useful first step in showing the Government that, despite their statements to the contrary, money is available in the National Insurance Fund for 1950s women’s pensions and that they have been mistaken in their calculations as to how much various solutions could cost.
The number of local WASPI groups continues to grow and they are making a very positive difference to the impact and reach of the campaign. Women out and about on the National Day of Local Action last Friday received thousands of signatures for a petition that will be handed in to Parliament next month and they continue to raise awareness through a whole range of different local initiatives.
The WASPI interim team has recently had a very positive meeting with a leading London law firm specialising in human rights, discrimination and public authorities’ powers. More news on this will follow shortly.
Building the new Strategy Group is nearly complete, and again, more infor-mation about the structure and format of the group will be with you in the near future.
Letters to to the DWP are continuing, with a view to making a formal com-plaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman once the DWP’s complaint proce-dure is exhausted. Legal advice is being sought before the next letter in the series is sent, to ensure that all the bases are covered properly.
These are exciting times for the WASPI campaign. WASPI is the only campaigning group which supports all 1950s women, whatever their date of birth. Perhaps because of this, the number of our supporters is growing every week and we now have just short of 43,000 people following the Facebook page: far more than any other group.

Deluded.....totally deluded! It did give me a good laugh :rotfl:

Silvertabby

I just can't get my head round the fact that WASPI think it's fair that all women born on or before 31 December 1959 should get their pensions from 60, but that all women born on or after 1 January 1960 can wait until they are 66/67.

Mortgagefreeman

Silvertabby wrote: »

I just can't get my head round the fact that WASPI think it's fair that all women born on or before 31 December 1959 should get their pensions from 60, but that all women born on or after 1 January 1960 can wait until they are 66/67.

Because they're mad as a box of frogs.



Anne keen leads another WASPI meeting.